Fire-escape



Patented May 9, 1882.

(No Model.

0. SULLIVAN, V

TIRE ESCAPE.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. O. SULLIVAN, OF HOPKINTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Fl RE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 257,781, dated May 9, 1882.

I'Applicationfiled March 20,1882. (No model)? To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN E. O. SULLIVAN, of Hopkinton, in the county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a description sufiiciently full, clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure -l is a side elevation; Fig. 2, a sectional view showingthe method of forming the stops on the rope, and Fig. 3 a sectional view showing the construction of the hand-pieces.

Like letters of reference indicate correspond ing parts in the different figures of the drawings.

My invention rel-ates to that class of fire escapes which are portable; and it consists in a novel construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed, by which a simpler and more effective device of this character is produced than is now in ordinary use.

In .the drawings, A represents the rope; B,

- the reel; 0, the hook ;.D, the hand-pieces, and

E the plumb or sinker.

The reel B is preferably oval in form, and composed of elastic sheet metal to enable it to be readily compressed in packing for transportation, and is provided with the bifurcated spring-holders a a for receiving and holding the rope A when the escape is not in use.

The book 0 and link Gr arerespectively attached to the ends of the reel by the swiveleyes or small hooks (l m,the upper end of the rope A being securely fastened in the lower end of the link at a; in any proper and convenient manner.

The hand-piecesD are preferably composed of wood, being oval in form and bored longitudinally through the center to receive the rope A, one end of the hole being counterbored or enlarged, as shown at a, Fig. 3. The

hand-pieces are secured at regular and proper intervals or distances along the rope by means of the stops h, formed as shown in Fig. 2.

These stops are made by inserting short pieces of hemp fiber or disintegrated rope between the strands of the rope A, then bending them over or downward upon the body of the same and securing them in position by the cord or ligature a, th us forming a conical plug or stop, which wedges in the lower or enlarged portion, a, of the hand-piece as the same isforced downward, and preventing it from slipping on the rope in a manner which will be readily obvious to all conversant with such, matters without a more explicit description.

The plumb or sinker is constructed in the ordinary form, being small at the point or lower end, 9, and enlarged and oval at the upper end, i. as shown in Fig. 1.

In the use of my improved escape the hook is attached to any convenient support in the room, and the rope, which should be of sufficient length to reach the ground from the top of an ordinary five-story building, is. unreeled and lowered from the window, the plumb or sinker E striking the ground and retaining the escape in a proper position for the person escaping from' the burning building to pass down the rope readily by means of the handpieces D.

The reel B not only serves all the purposes for which it is more especially designed, but may be used effectively to secure the upper end of the escape, instead of the hook O, by being passed over abed-post, table-leg, or any convenient support; or a rail or bar maybe passed through it and across the inside ofthe window, or otherwise secured.

The object of having the sinker in the form shown in Fig. 1 is to prevent it from rolling to a distance when it strikes the ground, a round sinker or plumb being liable to this objection.

Having thus explained my invention, what I claim is- Theimproved portable fire-escape described, the same consisting of the rope A, provided with the stops h, hand-pieces D, link G, and

plumb E, in combination with the reel B, provided with the holders (1. a, and hook 0, all

constructed and arranged to operate substantially-as set forth and specified.

. JOHN E. O. SULLIVAN.

Witnesses:

GEORGE O. BLADES, ALFRED L. CUTLER. 

